Naavnidhi K Wadhwa: A Crowning Inspiration

It’s difficult to believe that this fluent, composed speaker was once someone challenged with her English skills. Naavnidhi K Wadhwa, current winner of the Mrs Asia Woman of the Universe title, has a formidable story of triumph to tell. From cradle to crown, here’s the story of a definite icon.

Titles To Her Name

She is the current Mrs Asia Woman of the Universe. She has been second runner up in the Mrs Bharat Icon pageant, Mrs personality and Brand ambassador of peace , meditation, wellness and healing. She is a certified coach for psychology of eating from USA. She is also a NLP (Neuro-Linguistics Programming) specialist, having learned from Richard Bandler in London. She conducts meditation sessions and is a trained graphologist, numerologist, Vaastu consultant and healer. Recently, she was awarded the Mumbai city Iconic award by Radio city. She also has a NGO, Paankh, which does some amazing work for children born with special needs. Meet Naavnidhi K Wadhwa and know how she got to where she’s at.

No small story this one

Naavnidhi and her family

It’s been quite a hurdle race that this lady has run, and eventually won. Born into a simple family in the heart of Punjab, Naavnidhi was the only child to her parents. Local schooling meant Hindi medium of education. This invited quite some ridicule from relatives. ‘My relatives who came from the metros would not allow their children to speak to me, because I couldn’t converse in English!’ Naavnidhi relates. Though she laughs at it now, it was no mean trauma for her to overcome. She was, in no uncertain terms, labelled “useless”.

It was Naavnidhi’s parents, a doctor father and a lecturer mother who were the rock-solid pillars of support. They formed the safety net for a reticent child. When the family moved to Mathura and Naavnidhi attended an English medium school, her mother worked hard to help her cope. Growing up, it was still a battle against a shy personality that wasn’t confident of all that it could achieve in life.

Naavnidhi completed a NIFT graduate degree, fulfilling her passion for fashion. When the time came to be married, derisions from the family continued – she was short of height, not fair and still from a small town.

Yet, she found a life partner – six feet tall – who was least affected by these aspects. Life smiled on Naavnidhi, knowing that the future was only bright for her. ‘My husband has always been a big support,’ she says. ‘I would be constantly wearing high-heeled shoes to overcome my height issue. He once said to me – Don’t you get tired walking around in these shoes all day? Please take them off, I doesn’t bother me that you’re short’, Naavnidhi shares.

Physician, heal thyself

Naavnidhi with her mother

After stints in a couple of other career options, Naavnidhi steered her course towards healing modalities. This is when she found her true purpose and contentment, she confesses. ‘I was finally in touch with myself through these healing modalities like NLP, meditation and more such and found my personality changing’, she says. ‘An empty bottle can’t offer water to anyone. One needs to fill it up to be meaningful to the world outside’. Wise words from this title-winner.

For every problem that life created for Naavnidhi, the beautiful solution too evolved. Extreme weight gain after her second pregnancy led her to understand psychology of eating. She trained in this course abroad and today helps many a people towards a healthier lifestyle.

“The mind is where the entire battle is. We believe it’s beyond our control but through psychology of eating, one can help people regain control of their minds and so their lives’, Naavnidhi explains.

Easy lies the head that wears this crown

It was her younger daughter who egged her on to participating in the Women of the Universe pageant, which she eventually won this month. This is after Naavnidhi won the Bharat Icon title. ‘My mantra today is “Live in awareness, not in judgement”’, she states. Far from ordinary beauty pageants, this one is all about one’s achievements as a woman and how much you can be a leading example for the world.

Naavnidhi with the children of Paankh

Beauty and its purpose

A special mention should be made of Paankh, the NGO founded by Naavnidhi with her father and her father-in-law. Paankh works to support children with special needs.

The children who the world so easily labels “abnormal”are the ones Paankh sees as specially gifted by the universe. Naavnidhi calls them “rainbow children”. Paankh works towards enhancing the special abilities of each child, with personality development initiatives, healing practices and more.

It goes without saying that Naavnidhi Wadhwa’s is a story to contend with. But it’s only this impressive because the lady chose to write it herself, in her own way. A great learning experience for us all.